Continental Automotive proceeds construction on a new, condition-of-the-art $110 million producing facility in New Braunfels, with an anticipated opening prepared for fall, officials with the Hanover, Germany-based technologies business reported.
The 215,000-square-foot plant off I-35 and Kohlenberg Road will manufacture solutions for Superior Driver Guidance Units — the foundation of assisted and automatic driving.
Continental develops essential components for assisted and automatic driving all about the planet. The new area positions the business to extend its analysis and progress and manufacturing abilities in the United States as need for clever protection features improves.
“Construction is coming alongside, inspite of some difficulties with COVID and subcontractors and getting persons,” Job Supervisor Ryan French said. “We are in the method of receiving shut to in which we’re heading to start off ramping up creation. Later on this 12 months, we’ll get started generation, and we’re beginning to employ the service of.”
Continental started exploring sensors, computer software and intelligent connectivity more than 20 several years ago.
The New Braunfels facility will serve as an extension of that operate as the business improves investments in assisted and automated driving.
When the plant opens, area staff will generate radar sensors, which are important for quite a few complex safety features such as blind-place detection and ahead-collision warning.
“In the long term, we’ll increase other units in the identical household,” French explained. “To get started with, we’ll adhere with radar. Models are crafted from PCBs — green circuit boards. We populate these circuit boards on just one half of the approach, and on the other fifty percent, we offer them into anything that will be equipped into a car. We also do a large amount of screening to make positive it’s likely to carry out as it should in the discipline.”
The New Braunfels facility will provide as the company’s 2nd automotive production place in the point out.
French stated the staff is up to about 50 appropriate now, and it is time for the organization to bring in folks to operate the strains and to do the initial qualification builds, which will get place this thirty day period.
“We’ll have the start off-up of generation later this calendar year — that’s still the authentic approach and on keep track of,” French stated. “We’ll see a significant ramp-up in 2023 as we’re bringing in additional machines from the Seguin facility to this 1.
“Continental sees automation as the upcoming, and safer driving is a person of our most crucial ambitions. The goods that we make carry security to all people driving, but also the creating blocks for automated driving in the upcoming. You have to have these devices to develop up the automated methods that you have, but in the meantime, they are already out there and preserving life.”
With the new place, Continental will offer you 580 properly-paying employment with outstanding added benefits over the subsequent four many years in New Braunfels. The business plans to seek the services of 100 folks this summer time in preparing for the facility’s drop opening.
Continental has invested about $3.5 billion in manufacturing, engineering, facilities and solution progress in the United States due to the fact 2011. In addition, it employs a domestic workforce of far more than 19,000 individuals.
“It’s a developing small business in the automotive world alone,” Plant Manager Juergen Martin explained of automation engineering. “Of class, Continental is one of the leaders in this factor. We want to devote in persons who want to be aspect of one particular of the leaders. We have professionals. We have engineers. We have competent and unskilled people, but we give opportunities for absolutely everyone to improve with the organization and also produce competencies for a particular profession route. I consider this is a excellent option for persons.”
Comal County commissioners and New Braunfels City Council associates separately agreed in 2019 to incentivize Continental’s multi-million expense in the community. The settlement gives a multi-year refund of house taxes compensated on the improvements and business’ particular house in exchange for the organization satisfying selected work and wage levels.
If the business meets all the benchmarks, it could complete up to $3.3 million in land acquisition grants, up to $1.8 million for infrastructure improvements and up to $270,000 in roadway impression fees to boost Kohlenberg Highway.
Continental will obtain a 15% city assets tax rebate over 10 a long time if it reaches and maintains the set selection of whole-time positions, and the county accepted a 47% property tax rebate based mostly on the similar conditions above the subsequent ten years.
For information on Continental occupations, pay a visit to www.continental.com/careersus.
